Wednesday, January 11, 2017

About PPPP (potential pandemic pathogen policy)

There was a
plan released on January 9, by the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy to assist with determining whether studies that make viruses more
dangerous should be funded. They hope that this will help bring through several
studies that have been on hold, funded by the Department of Health and Human
Services, for a couple of years, due hesitation of the creation of “gain-of-function”
viruses, among the notable ones were studies on influenza, Middle East respiratory
syndrome virus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome virus.

They released this
policy sooner than expected due to the fear of uncertainty surrounding the
policy’s future that would come with the leadership of the Donald Trump. The
policy is reminiscent on the study of H5N1, which was made more transmissible among
mammals. The policy covers “PPPs” or “potential pandemic pathogens,” as well as
projects involving enhanced pathogens, where the policy helped define the
criteria. However, there has been some controversy surrounding the policy. Stanford
faculty David Relman, a microbiologist, stated “the location of its 'home' is
very important,” in regards to conflicts of interest.